NEW DELHI, Jan 19 – India’s foreign ministry on Thursday dismissed as “propaganda” a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi that questioned his leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
BBC has been known for biased news reporting for a quite long time now. This time BBC published a documentary defaming Indian PM Narendra Modi.
Modi was chief minister of the western state of Gujarat when it was engulfed in riots that left more than 1,000 dead. The violence erupted after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was allegedly attacked and burnet by Muslim rioters, killing 59 people.
Accused of failing to stop the riots, Modi denied the charges and was acquitted in 2012 after an investigation by India’s Supreme Court. Another petition challenging his acquittal was dismissed last year.
BBC’s documentary is seems to have less basis and credibility as all the disputes regarding the attack and riots have been thoroughly investigated by Indian national agencies as well as international activists which concluded that Indian PM Modi was not responsible for the incident.
Foreign Office spokesman Arindam Bagchi called the BBC documentary a “propaganda piece” aimed at pushing a “discredited narrative”, saying the “bias”, “lack of objectivity” and “continued colonial mindset” were “blatant” in it.
“It kind of makes us think about the purpose of this exercise and the agenda behind it, and we don’t wish such an effort with dignity,” he told a news conference.
Contacted for comment, the BBC said the documentary was “rigorously researched” and included a “wide spectrum” of voices and opinions, including reactions from people in Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).